Bromsgrove musicians' album will remember Dan and raise funds for Macmillan

TWO MEN who both grew up in Bromsgrove have written and produced a music album to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Barry Forrest and his friend Richard Morris set up the Grim Management music production company around four years ago so they could accomplish their aim.

They were joined by friend Jon Elliott who supported the project - a collection of heavy rock songs performed by different artists and musicians.

All the lyrics and music have been written by Barry, Richard and Jon and the album is due to be released this year.

One of the songs - ballad 'Godless Me' was penned by Barry after he watched his wife Alison go through breast cancer treatment.

He then found family friend Dan Day to perform the song and James Oliver to play the cello on the track.

But, it then emerged that Dan was fighting a losing battle with cancer so the song took on a whole new meaning and became very personal for Dan the singer as well as Baz and Richard.

Sadly Dan recently passed away at the age of just 32, leaving behind his wife, his two-year-old son and two step-children.

That song is now available to download on iTunes, with the cash raised going to Macmillan Cancer Support, which helped Dan and his family.

A music video version of it on YouTube has already amassed more than 2,200 hits in the first month.

The musicians behind the album also feel it will be something special for Dan's family to remember him by.

Alison said she was fortunate enough to be diagnosed in the very early stages of breast cancer and now, for this year at least, has been given the all clear, following chemo and radiotherapy.

"We were forunate that we did not need the suppoprt of Macmillan but we know many people who have and this is why we want to get behind this fantastic charity," she added.

Last year the children and parents of Charford First School, where Alison is the deputy headteacher, raised more than £700 for Macmillan from a coffee afternoon.

Kelly Whitehouse, Macmillan Cancer Support's Worcestershire fund-raising manager, said “This is such a positive way of ensuring that people receiving a cancer diagnosis will have the medical, practical, financial and emotional support they need.

"No one should face cancer alone and Macmillan Cancer Support are determined to ensure that no one does."

She added the cash raised would fund local Macmillan Cancer Care services, including information and counselling centres, specialist medical staff and grants for people with cancer who were in financial difficulty.

The video for Godless Me can be found on YouTube and the song can be downloaded from iTunes. Just search for the title on the two sites.